6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Ever Consider the Visual

Ask people to describe their favorite brands, and you’re likely to get good answers. Most people understand what a brand generally stands for, and that’s not by accident. Apple is the leader in innovative, user-friendly products that everyone wants. Volvo makes quality, safe cars. Ikea can outfit your whole house and make you a hipster for next to nothing. Habitat for Humanity serves as a model for Christian non-profits. Chick-fil-a does fast food better than anyone else, their employees are a step above, and they get praised of being closed on Sundays. Southwest Airline offers cheap fares, doesn’t charge for bags, and has funny flight attendants. And so on.

Ask those same people to equate that company or organization’s brand to something visible or tangible, and they’ll likely point to its logo or tagline, its product or packaging, its physical environment or its spokesperson.

But which of these things sum up the brand? They all do. Everything that you say, but more importantly what you do and who you are as an organization is branding. Because everything you are and do makes a statement about your mission and about what you value. Your brand reflects your soul to the world. That’s why it’s so important to recognize that branding is more about who you are and how you add value to people’s lives than about your logo. The visible brand is merely a manifestation of something else, something true and powerful.

Developing a core brand isn’t rocket science. What it takes is commitment, honesty, and passion. Here are six questions to ask yourself before ever considering a logo or anything visual.

WHY DO WE EXIST?
This is another way to say, “What do we do?” For the church, that’s going to likely reflect the mission of the church universal—to preach the gospel and make disciples. For institutions of higher ed, that means the basic task of engaging and training the minds of future generations. Try to be as specific as you can. Get existential if you want. In the end, you’re talking about the mission of your organization.

HOW DO WE IMPROVE LIVES?This question gets more at the specifics you do to fulfill this mission the first question uncovered. First, do you improve lives? What do these better lives look like? What is it that you do to make them better? Can you recount specific examples?

WHO ARE WE CALLED TO SERVE?
Take a really good look at your audience. The more specific you can be and the more you can understand about their needs, desires, and habits, the better equipped you’ll be to serve those needs. “Everyone” just isn’t a realistic answer and the sooner you own that truth, the sooner you’ll be able to focus your efforts on those you can reach.

WHERE ARE WE CALLED TO SERVE?
Most organizations aren’t global. They serve people in a specific place or region. But the demographics divide up well beyond place. It’s important to identify the places and demographics among which your organization will have influence. Answering the where question is another way to underscore that you’re unique.

WHAT DO WE VALUE?
This question looks less at your audience and turns inward. It requires honesty and thoughtfulness to get an answer that separates you from others and resonates with those you’ll encounter along the way. What you value should drive all that you do and pursue as an organization.

WHAT WOULD THE WORLD BE MISSING IF WE WEREN’T HERE?It sounds a little morbid,but think about writing an epitaph. What would be said about your organization at your memorial service? What would the world be missing out on if you simply weren’t around to do what you do? There might not be a better way to clearly identify and begin pursuing your calling than to imagine your own funeral.

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can confidently pursue how to best visualize this brand. You now have what we call a brand map, to measure not only the visual but also any new programming, product, partnership, or initiative against. If it doesn’t align well with your brand map, it probably shouldn’t be attempted. And a logo that looks cool but doesn’t match up with these questions will be short-lived and ultimately devalue your brand.